Sermons, Beatitudes, and Salt

I am continuing my exploration of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book The Cost of Discipleship, and although I may. have lapsed on my blogging since returning to work after spring break, I have been carefully reading chapters daily. When I wrote last I was just embarking on chapter 6, the Beatitudes. Before I talk about this chapter and others, however I must confess that I have spent some time pondering the question: Why did Dietrich choose this event in Jesus's life to launch his first publication? What was it about these sayings in particular that so moved him to use the sermon as the driving force for the bulk of this book?

Well, I know, I know. I mean it does contain the Beatitudes, The Lord's Prayer, and that salt of the earth stuff! I understand that it is the longest teachings of Christ. But I was thinking that it is so widely popular, and that there are so many sermons, bodies of work, and theses about this portion of Christ's life in Matthew,that it seemed odd to me that he would have chosen it as the central backbone of the book. Studying his life in the seminary at the time of his writing the manuscript, I have decided that perhaps he was truly looking at the sermon aspect of the account as Christ really speaking to him and his students personally.

With that said, Chapters 6-13 really address the idea of the Sermon on the Mount with Bonhoeffer's commentary about the setting of the sermon, what Christ was truly saying in portions of the verses, and how pastors and followers were to use the words of the Lord in daily life. Of most interest to me was the distinction he made between the people on the surrounding mountain and his disciples gathered near him. Bonhoeffer points out that the words of Christ to the listener were meant to be interpreted differently, according to the follower. He points out that the setting of the sermon demonstrates this because the disciples are the ones to whom he is really speaking as the crowd listens in to his teachings. Now, I do not know if I am correct about this. As I have said I am certainly no theologian, but it seems to me that he is pointing out to us all that while we are may be called to Christ, those that leave all and pick up and follow God, such as a clergy and missionaries and the sort,are bound to Christ by a different sort of relationship.

This theme to me seems to permeate through the chapters as the sermon is discussed: the blessed, the salt, the anger at the brother, lust in the heart, oath saying, revenge.

"He addresses his disciples as men who have left all to follow him....He is the Lord of all life and demands undivided allegiance...this distinction raises insoluble difficulties. Am I ever acting as a private person or only in an official capacity?"

Of course the passages are not all directed personally to those who preach in official capacity, but there are enough moments in the discussion  of  this sermon to make me view the words of Christ from the viewpoint of all of those Pastors and Reverends I have known over the years who have used these chapters in Matthew to make me focus on myself, as a member of their flock, and to use the thoughts and words to create a better relationship with God and those around me. I feel that reading these chapters flipped that viewpoint for me, and this enabled me to think again about the fact that while we all strive to live to be blessed and the salt of the earth so to speak, maybe we should also realize that those persons who have been called directly by Christ have additional expectations from the Lord. Listening to Bonhoeffer speak about the disciples makes me understand that sometimes those duties are particularly challenging for the official, the person in charge,the ones giving the sermon. The book makes me wonder if they feel a need occasionally just to be a part of the crowd on the mountain hearing the words of Jesus, looking over the Sea of Galilee.

The Seventh Word of Christ: Chapter Three Four Five

As I prepare to go again to church today ( I did a vigil hour at 4am... bleh) I thought to myself; ya know.  I  really ought to review the Last Seven Words of Christ before I go to the service at Trinity tonight. I was also thinking about the blog and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writings early this vigil morning as I prayed and meditated in our quiet and beautiful sanctuary with only the cross illuminated. So to expedite these chapters; basically they address their titles: Single Minded Obedience, Discipleship and the Cross, and Discipleship and the Individual.

Let's start with that obedience thing. This morning I had a marvelous ride with Jobi, my horse  trainer's intern, and we chit chatted about a lot of things. But what struck me most about our ride was how careful and obedient she was being to Paul's wishes with the horses, and how specific she was to every thing that he would have wanted her to do had he been there. I remember my Dad telling me at one point in my life, if you work for someone imagine that the job is your business and you are the boss. Work as if they (or you) were right by your side and everything that you do reflects that. You will go far.

In a nut shell this is what chapter three is about. The first call to discipleship calls for obedience in a dogged, single-minded way.  Humans have a way, particularly with regards to church and the call to Christ, of saying....yeah, well, OK, but let's get real. Let's deal with reality people. I understand what I am supposed to do, but here is what I can realistically offer. This chapter calls us on the ego of humans, and argues that as disciples we can not rationalize ourselves out of obedience.

Chapter four however, is about the cross. Now I do not know about you, but the cross is where I really have a weakness with regards to my relationship with Christ. Bonhoeffer addresses the cross head on here as a call to suffering. I mean seriously. I am sitting in the sanctuary today in wee early hours thinking about that. I know full well what suffering means. Everyone wants God to be good, to be gracious, to be loving....but no one wants (me especially) to address the cross and what it really means. "A cross is waiting for you" (p 89) I have 'ever forever' loved ones who truly understand this phrase and I have observed it at a bystander, but I will be honest. I have not matured enough in my faith to understand Dietrich in this chapter. Here is the worst of the spot...Every time I take communion I think of my loved ones that I have witnessed being my heroes of unbelievable suffering, and I still resist. "Only when we become selfless, unaware of the pain of our own cross, are we ready to bear the cross for the sake of Christ."

Chapter five. Christ calls us personally. I was thinking about our youth of today when I read this chapter. How can they ever hear the call, or talk to Christ? They are constantly plugged in, wired up, and never ever without an earpiece to an alternate reality. Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat. You name it. This is reality.  Is there a God app for these poor kids? Just asking. This chapter suggests that discipleship is complete attachment to Christ, and that going through the motions, following the law is simply not enough. We must commit. We must know Christ, and our reward is fellowship and peace.

Well. Can you have a Happy Good Friday? Probably; in today's world. I am off to the Last Seven Words of Christ service. When I see you next we will talk about The Sermon on the Mount...the Beatitudes....the Sermon on the Plain. Happy Good Friday All! ;-)

Which Comes First?

Sunday afternoon I was flying on United to Jacksonville, when I thought to myself, "I can read a couple of chapters of The Cost of Discipleship before we land!" Well. Reading this book in your quiet study in the privacy of your home is one situation. However reading this book as you head south from the dreary cold on vacation is quite another. It is difficult and to be frank, tedious at times.

I was actually tempted to close the book but I looked out of the window at the clouds and thought of my mother when I was a young girl in college reading Paradise Lost by John Milton, bemoaning the fact that I found the material to be less than interesting. My mother, who would cringe because I was going through a Maeve Binchey phase at that time in my life, gave me her exacting stare over her cup of tea quipped sharply, "Well perhaps, Kathryn, not every piece of literature in this world was written for your personal enjoyment."

Well. For those of you reading along Chapter 2, in classic form, made me think of this conversation throughout the chapter. Dietrich introduces the discourse by talking to us about the call of the disciples and breaks down for us the act of the call. He begins with Levi's call (Mark 2.14) and points out that Levi receives no praise, no recognition for his decision to follow Christ. He is simply obedient to the Son of God. He also contrasts this with the law where one does an act in adherence. He says simply, "Christ calls, the disciple follows."

Bonhoeffer then suggests that the obedience to the call must come first and it is then the faith that follows, not the other way around. In other words, he seems to say; look, you can't say you 'have faith' in an abstract ideal out of context with your life. It does not work that way. He suggests that the call from Christ is not a mental academic exercise, but a union of the act of obedience in your life in concert with faith. He uses as the example the parable of the rich young man (Matt: 19 16-22)He argues that the young man is pandering to Christ and perhaps using him as an academic exercise like any good student who wanted to have an intellectual conversation with their teacher might. He contrasts this with Christ's encounter with the lawyer  and the Good Samaritan parable, where the lawyer instead is trying to trap Christ, and Christ turn the table and says "you are the neighbour".

So, what is my overview of this chapter? It was not written for my personal enjoyment! Instead it was written to make me think about the difference of thinking about following Christ in the abstract versus actually doing the hard work that involves truly following the call of Christ. I mean isn't this something we see all of the time in our feel good, me me me society? Me talking to a high school student last month: What do you want to do with your life? "I want to be a writer?" Yes. And what do you think about Earnest Hemingway? F. Scott Fitzgerald?  " I don't read those kinds of books Ms. Gemmer. Those people were drunks and they are boring. It was stupid writing."

I think that this attitude is exactly what Dietrich Bonhoeffer was trying to approach in this first chapter. He is saying that a first step is to put yourself in church, or reading the bible, or meditating on a long walk. He suggests that following the call must happen with the faith, and unfortunately that an act of obedience, an act of discipleship does not always involve our own personal entertainment. It is hard work.

Costly Grace and Tom Hanks

Good evening. I cannot believe I am sitting down to the computer this night before Palm Sunday blogging about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Costly versus Cheap Grace. But here I am. I just thought if I did not write down my thoughts before I sing tomorrow for service and fly  to Jacksonville FL to visit my daughter that I would lack the discipline (get it? ;-)) to continue reading and posting these blogs about The Cost of Discipleship. So here I am. I'll keep it brief I hope!

It was a marvelous day except for the ridiculous snow. I took my mare Leggs to Paul Waslyn's at the Diamond C (our trainer) and got to visit a bit with him in the barn. I then got to pick out a couple of chairs for the sun room and returned home to watch tonight a Bridge of Spies by Steven Spielberg and featuring a favorite actor of mine Tom Hanks. I will be honest. Jim wanted to see this movie but I was reluctant. It sounded dull and redundant. Of course it was brilliant and set of all places in one of my fave cities...Berlin!!!! I kept saying....oh there is Check Point Charlie and silly stuff like that throughout the show.

I am writing tonight about chapter 1 in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book 'The Cost of Discipleship'. He jumps right in to the book by talking about the concept of grace. I remember when I was first married; I'll be honest here, I never even thought about any idea other than I was a Baptist. So when I first came to the idea of grace as promoted by Martin Luther, I really had to wrap my mind around that idea of free grace. So how weird is it that this is where Bonhoeffer begins his first published book, with the idea that Grace from God might actually be costly. If you read this chapter he drives home the point that while the Grace of God might be free for the taking, it really costs you everything, for you must give all up to follow Christ in a real sense. You have to be a disciple.

Now. This takes me back to Berlin and the movie I just saw tonight which had so many cool parallels to this idea of Costly Grace that Dietrich wants us to embrace. I am just thinking outside of the box here, but isn't it possible that you can go through the motions of a Christian life and fail to negotiate on a daily basis a Christ like attitude that allows opportunity because you are too narrow in your view point to really listen to God? Is it comfortable to take cheap Grace and rationalize that it is pure, while really it is unworthy of God? Does God give us grace, but truly know if we are serving him or serving something else?

I asked these questions of the first chapter because in the very first words we are to consider the heart of Martin Luther's reformation and the idea that one can do nothing to earn God's grace. Instead this chapter asks us to consider the following:
"Happy are those that know that discipleship simply means the life that springs from grace, and grace simply means discipleship."

My next blog post will be from poolside at my daughter's home in Florida! Chapter 2 awaits. If you have seen Bridge of Spies, maybe you get my reference to this chapter. If not, I highly recommend this movie. Good night and "pre" Palm Sunday greetings to all!

Introduction:Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.

Matthew 11: 28-30 The Call to Discipleship

Today is the first time since I had studied Dietrich's life in detail that I have actually read something written by him. I discovered that suddenly, because I am invested in him as a man, a human with who I connect, that his words have new meaning. I just read the Introduction today. For those of you starting the reading, it is a very nice place to start, for it is short and very clear in its message.

He starts where we all start when it comes to the church life. He points out that churches are full of everything it seems, except a pure vision of Christ and the Gospel. He points out that many who visit churches cannot come to know Christ for the "ballast" in the pulpit, the ministry, and even the churchgoers as they go about their rituals of service in the name of God. I think that what he is saying is that it is so full of coarseness with regards to laying the of foundation of a functional congregation and worship group, that it lacks the refinement necessary to truly focus on the word of God.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

In other words when he asks us to read these words he is arguing that this is probably what the church, while with good and meet faith and intentions, impedes instead of promotes. I mean isn't that true of any well-intended organization of  well- meaning citizens? You are a young mother trying to make the rounds of the soccer games, or a retiree trying to pay the bills and slow down in life. Ultimately the church asks for you to do things that add to the hectic pace, the unrelenting toil, the weariness of life.

I think this is what Dietrich wanted us to hear in this Call to Discipleship. I think he suggests to us that if we will listen to Christ and become a disciple, that all chores in our life will become joy, and furthermore when we come up against true trials and inevitable grief, that a relationship with Christ (and not the church) will help us find some peace and rest for our souls.

It is St Patty's Day and did you know that this patron Saint of Ireland was also imprisoned in Ireland for years and that is where he came to know Christ? Happy St Patty's to all! I must be off to choir practice!

Who Am I? The Cost of Discipleship, Memoir

As promised, I will be reading The Cost of Discipleship for the next few weeks. The study guide that I distributed during Trinity Forum Hour is found on Peter Faur's website found here

http://peterfaur.com/2012/12/18/study-guides-for-dietrich-bonhoeffers-the-cost-of-discipleship#axzz4378B55KY

It was a beautiful evening tonight, so after walking my  Australian Shepherd pup (Jewels) and cleaning the barn I sat on the deck and began my reading of the text, specifically with the memoir by Leibholz. The memoir of course is a review of Dietrich's life as already mentioned both in Forum and my last entry; however, it also includes a poem written by Bonhoeffer while he was imprisoned in Tegel. If you don't know the story, he was a beloved prisoner in Hitler's WWII. His guards and his fellow prisoners all looked to him for spiritual and uplifting guidance in the face of unbelievably cruel and unreasonable trials. It is even said that many prisoners were brought to an understanding of Christ in their last days by the steadfast warmth of his calmness and control; "like a giant before men". I find it so human, therefore, that in the midst of all of his devotion to the people around him in this prison that he wrote the following poem:

“Who am I?”

Who am I? They often tell me

I stepped from my cell’s confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a Squire from his country-house.

Who am I? They often tell me
I used to speak to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
equally, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were
compressing my throat,
yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?

Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person to-day and to-morrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, 0 God, I am Thine!

It is hard to write "blog entries" after reading such powerful words as these. I think we can all identify with Dietrich. I think I will just leave you with his beautiful poetry for tonight. I look forward to tomorrow and the beginning of the readings of Bonhoeffer's comments on the Introduction for his book!

The Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This week's forum hour at Trinity Episcopal of Upperville, VA was a  discussion of Dietrich's Bonhoeffer's life as an introduction to the idea of reading his classic book The Cost of Discipleship. I must say that although I have read his apostolic writings throughout the years, and given many of his books to friends as gifts, I had never really considered the timeline and events that characterized his unusual life as a man of God. I must confess that I have become intrigued by the action adventure nature of his journey through faith in the horrific setting of Berlin in World War II. They say that the teacher learns more than the students in preparation for teaching, and I feel that particular in this instance I was immersed in the material and came out with an introspective spirit as I approached the Sunday morning lecture hour in this season of Lent.

If you missed the class and want to know more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life I encourage you to view the following video links. I will also be posting study notes daily with blog questions and musings about the book The Cost of Discipleship. I have included links to its purchase on line and I also have two copies left for loan if you will message me or call the church office.

Here are the links to my suggested videos about Bonhoeffer's life

This link is to a discussion by Tom Greggs from the University of Aberdeen Divinity that is very informative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk7Ti8wmZxk

This link is a video about Bonhoeffer's execution that I did not have time to show in Forum Hour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV7PimPdNUM

This is a vintage 1978 video that is of poor video quality but extremely well done
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDab6_fzdXQ

Also here are some quotes from the Cost of Discipleship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqLohCjqAZ0

The Cost of Discipleship introduced
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrNTVrtXPAU

I look forward to studying this book with you in the following weeks. Here is the link to an  online purchase....don't forget we have copies available for loan!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cost-Discipleship-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/dp/0684815001